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POTTERS

Gallery Volunteers Save the Day!

By Sharon Cohen, Gallery Manager

Because the Gallery of BC Ceramics is a
non-profit organisation, we're constantly
looking out for ways to minimise expenses.
That’s a team effort for sure. Donations of
time, equipment and packaging materials
help to keep things running smoothly and
profitably, and we're always so grateful for
what comes our way. Some of our members
have made significant contributions to the
gallery, and I'd like to make special mention
of these volunteers.

For starters, there’s Dave Carlin. Though not
a potter himself, Dave is passionate about the
craft and is an avid and diligent collector. He
shares his passion when he works as a gallery
assistant at the gallery, where he functions as a
fully-fledged member of staff, but without pay.
He’s totally professional and utterly charming
when engaging with customers, and, best of
all, his love of pottery comes through loud
and clear in all his interactions with potential
buyers. And he’s not afraid of rolling up his
sleeves and getting dirty when the all-female
staff does an “Oh Dave...would you mind
climbing the ladder and hoisting this heavy
box onto the top of the cupboard?!” number
on him! He's a huge asset to the gallery, and
greatly appreciated.

Don Jung is our hero, too. He's Mr. Fix-
It in the tech department. I’m sure most of
us agree that computers are a blessing and
a curse, and, on days when they're a curse,
Don is our man! He's donated countless
hours to the gallery, setting up systems,
installing software, dealing with equipment
malfunctions, donating equipment and being
all-round LT. guru when I throw my hands
up in despair. Had we enlisted the services of a
professional company to perform all the tasks
Don has taken care of so willingly, it would
have cost the gallery hundreds of dollars.

Another hero of tech land is Linda Lewis,
who has volunteered many hours and much
patience working with me on the gallery
website. The intention was that I should
acquire a few basic skills so that I could
make changes and update the website when
required. As both Linda and Don can attest, I
am NOT a tech person at ALL; teaching me
tech skills is like teaching a rugby player to
do ballet! I have absolutely no aptitude for
anything computer-based, and Linda was very
patient and supportive. The woman is a saint!
Despite having had an excellent teacher, I'm

still no expert, but am proud to say that I can
do the occasional update without annihilating
our entire website, which was (and still is!) my
big fear.

Leon Popik, Judy Burke, Dan Severance
and Jinny Whitehead have donated very
valuable packaging materials, and Laura van
der Linde has donated plinths and other
display materials. I guess that makes these folks
volunteers too. We love it when they come
into the gallery bearing their “gifts”. It’s as if
Santa has arrived! Thanks for keeping us well-
supplied with materials that would otherwise
have cost the gallery a lot of money.

Thank you to all of you. Your contributions
are deeply appreciated.

The Crawl

November 18 to 20, 2011

The 15th Annual Eastside Culture
Crawl is a FREE 3-day visual arts phen-
omenon. This event involves more than
10,000 people visiting artists in their
studios in the area bounded by Main Street
to Victoria Drive and from First Avenue
north to the waterfront of Vancouver.
The Eastside Culture Crawl Society
provides opportunities for the public
to engage with member artists through
the ongoing creation of events and
programming that support the growth of
east side artists.
Schedule:
Nov. 18: 5 to 10 p.m.
Nov. 19 & 20: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
www.eastsideculturecrawl.com

DVD Revi CW By Patty Osborne

What If? Explorations with Texture

ceramic artsdaily
presents

and Soft Slabs
Ceramic Arts Daily Video Library

The American Ceramic Society

Explorations with
Texture and Soft Slabs

3 hours
2 DVD set / $69.95

In the DVD set What If? Explorations with Texture
and Soft Slabs, Sandi Piernatozzi demonstrates
how working with soft slabs can open up
infinite possibilities in both shape and texture.
As beginners we were taught to make a cylinder
by forming a slab around a vertical form (and
don’t forget to cover the form with paper first!)
and then somehow smooth the wall join and add.

a bottom. But what if you don’t use a form at all,

you just join the wall, add a bottom slab, and

make the open top round by gently pushing a funnel into it? It’s easier to join the wall
when there's no bottom in the cylinder and you're then free to break away from round
and try any shape that takes your fancy. Then you could try stretching out the wall of the
cylinder from the inside to form a belly and perhaps you could cut a couple of gussets in
the sides to bring the shape back in.

And what if, before you shape the slab, you apply some lovely texture from netting,
stamps or a car floor mat? Would you worry about the texture being marred when you
shape the form? Don’t be—that texture is tougher than you think and variations in it will
make a more interesting surface.

Along with sound technical information about how to texture, join, gusset and shape
soft slabs, Piernatozzi encourages us to ask the question “what if?” (What if I turn this
shape upside down? What if] add a shape on top of this shape? What if I put a lid on it?)
and it is this repeated invitation to experimentation that makes these DVDs much more
than just technical demonstrations. They can be a starting point from which you make
your own forays into (or back into the wonderful world of creating with slabs.

You can watch excerpts from this DVD series at www.ceramicartsdaily.org.

GUILD
of BRITISH

COLUMBIA
a

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Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - October 2011 6